Rail car shortage strands grain on Canadian prairies

As farmers across Alberta start preparing for seeding this spring, some have been waiting weeks to get their crops from last year to elevators so they can get paid.

A shortage of rail cars in Canada has left grain shipments stranded in elevators across the prairie provinces.

Information from the Ag Transport Coalition shows thousands of rail car orders have been cancelled in recent months. Agriculture groups in Alberta say car order fulfillment by Canada’s biggest railways, Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway, has been as low as 50 per cent in some cases. It has led to a backlog that is trickling down to farmers.

CN and CP say cold weather and recent volume growth on the railways are to blame for the backlog.